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Elvis Costello - The River in Reverse Audio CD

A fair review of the Elvis Costello "The River in Reverse" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Elvis Costello reviews here, or go back to the Elvis Costello tabs.

Elvis Costello Band: Elvis Costello
Title: The River in Reverse
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-06-06
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: On Your Way Down 2: Nearer to You 3: Tears, Tears and More Tears 4: Sharpest Thorn 5: Who's Gonna Help a Brother Get Further? 6: River in Reverse 7: Freedom for the Stallion 8: Broken Promise Land 9: Ascension Day 10: International Echo 11: All These Things 12: Wonder Woman 13: Six-Fingered Man

Everyman a crawling kingsnake
It came from a pair of wizened musical vets. The most searing of musical indictments during 2006 didn't come from some young buck MC or a snorting enraged punk band. Elvis Costello teamed up with Allen Toussaint and dropped this amazing 13 song collaboration that both celebrates the spirit of New Orleans' music makers at the same time it ravages those that willingly stood off and averted their eyes. "Ascension Day" is this album's centerpiece, mournfully delivering the lyric "40 days passed by, 40 alibis" with the clarity of his best work. "The River In Reverse" takes on this dichotomy and doesn't flinch. The angry young man of old finally gets to harness his vitriol to a new cause, and Toussaint gives Costello a whole new batch of colors to work with.

Oddly enough, it is the catalog numbers from Toussaint that really bring out the soul to "The River In Reverse. " Versions of "Tears and More Tears," "Freedom for the Stallion" and "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" (with the lead sung by Toussaint) make their emotional mark to the time, even despite their age. Toussaint's arrangements (often not varying much from their older recordings) also draw out some of Costello's better vocal skills. He sounds more soulful here than on his "My Flame Burns Blue" CD, released with the same year as "The River In Reverse. "

Toussaint also managed most of the production duties on "The River In Reverse," and it is to the CD's benefit. Neither as creamy smooth as "North," disjointed like "When I Was Cruel," or as raw and rugged and "The Delivery Man," the music here strikes the perfect balance. It is Costello's best sounding disc since "Painted From Memory" with Burt Bacharach. (Oddly enough, also a collaboration with one of Costello's idols. )

But it is this CD's title track that will draw the most attention. A bitter diatribe that rivals Costello's "Shipbuilding" or "Peace In Our Time," it takes on the intentional methods of divisiveness that the authorities attempted to use when shielding their own inadequacies. (Think "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. ") "An Uncivil war divides the nation," Costello notes in the song's final verse. It's his best song in ages, frankly. And it adds to the multitude of riches that Costello and Toussaint pour into "The River In Reverse. " .


Repeated listenings

Elvis' voice is at its finest and the music is perfect for his voice. Here is a collection of songs that need to be heard over and over again.
You will want to hear these songs more than once as the melodies are simple
and the band is tight.
A fine collaboration by these two talented musicians.


Little White Elvis
Allen toussaint is a tough act to keep up with, and although Costello tries hard, he just ends up sounding lame, and significantly detracts from the songs' appeal. This recording unfortunately highlights Elvis' limitations as a singer. This would have been a far better effort if Elvis had stuck to writing and playing and left the vocals to someone else.


Disapointing experience
It was a major dispointment when I heard the first song. The River in Reverse
I bought this album without listening it up front. I thought that my amplifier was broke. The sound of the album is as if it comes out of a very small box; it's very flat. All the other tracks sound the same. It's unbelievable that today, while millions of people are downloading illegal tracks from the internet with lousy mp3 quality, some artists still don't know that real music lovers like to buy their albums and expect to get a great sound for their money. Costello and Toussaint should be ashamed about this production.
.


An interesting pairing, but it's just not what it could have been.
Playing to the strengths of both artists, this collection of songs from both Costello and Toussaint has all the requisite sounds: slow haunting horns, jazz and blues tempos throughout, and heartfelt vocals from Costello making for a pretty, but ultimately, forgettable effort.
An interesting labor of love, THE RIVER IN REVERSE turns out to be a solid collaboration of styles without any significant surprises. After listening to this a number of times, I've yet to find a song that sticks with me after I walk away. The true collaborations between the two, like "International Echo" and "Six-Fingered Man" add some spice to the mix, but the overall effect is just, "This is OK," and I guess my high expectations for this going in didn't help. I was hoping this would meeting would bring out the best in both, but there is no sense of challenge here, just mutual respect, and that doesn't necessarily lead to the most exciting mixture of styles. THE RIVER IN REVERSE is a worthy effort, but not one that will get a lot of play on my system in the future.
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You can see a complete list of all Elvis Costello discography, or go back to the Elvis Costello tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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